Courses

The LPN to BSN program requires that students have an active LPN Licensure, and provide official transcripts documenting graduation from a state-approved technical or vocational program. View the transcript and validation of prior learning information on the Admissions tab.

The following is the progression plan for full-time LPN nurses to the BSN program. A student must earn a minimum of 122 semester credit hours to be eligible for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Actual course availability in any given semester/session is dependent upon College practices.

Included within this list is the Educated Citizen Core Curriculum. All students seeking to complete an undergraduate degree at Nebraska Methodist College must complete this set of general education requirements. As an educated citizen, NMC graduates are competent practitioners and respond productively to the complex dynamics of the world, utilizing a diversity of disciplines and perspectives.

First Year - First Semester

COM 101

ENGLISH COMPOSITION

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This course provides instruction and practice in writing, with emphasis on the recursive processes of generating, drafting, revising and editing. Students develop skills in producing and evaluating written communications in private and public contexts.

Credits: 3.0

SSC 101

INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

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This course is designed to merge science with a broad human perspective and to engage both the mind and the heart. It sets forth the principles and processes of psychology and is sensitive to student‘s needs and interests. It helps students gain insight into the important phenomena in everyday life, to feel a sense of wonder about seemingly ordinary human processes and to see how psychology addresses issues that cross disciplines.

Credits: 3.0

SCI 103

COLLEGE CHEMISTRY

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This course is an overview of general, organic and biological chemistry with an emphasis on applications to health sciences. This course will introduce students to the basic knowledge of the properties of the matter, its reactions, and classifications. The course will discuss the main organic compounds and their properties as well as include some basic biochemistry principles. The course is accompanied by laboratory exercises.

Credits: 3.0

SCI 225

HUMAN ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY I

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This course will introduce students to basic information required for further study and understanding of Anatomy and Physiology, as well as for the study of all health care related subjects. Terminology that is specific to the medical field is introduced. Basic principles of chemistry, physics, embryology, developmental biology and histology are reviewed/introduced in both the classroom and laboratory settings. Students are introduced to the eleven body systems. This course then focuses on enabling students to learn and understand the Anatomy (structure) and Physiology (function) of the Integumentary, the Nervous, the Skeletal, and the Muscular Systems. Laboratory experience will include cadaveric study.

Credits: 4.0

Prerequisites:

High school chemistry

HUM 150

THE WORLD OF IDEAS: CRITICAL REASONING AND RHETORIC

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There is a strong relationship between thinking clearly and expressing thoughts in formal writing and public speaking. Using the skills of logic and critical thinking, students will examine ideas, analyze and evaluate the arguments of others, and advocate for their own ideas. Students will be introduced to the NMC Portfolio process.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites:

HUM 150 is to be taken in the first semester, unless designated in the second semester by the program of study

First Year - Second Semester

NRS 176

LPN TRANSITION COURSE

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This transition course is designed to enable the licensed practical nurse to achieve advanced placement in the BSN curriculum. Emphasis is placed on the theoretical and philosophical frameworks necessary to assume the role of a second level nursing student. Interpersonal communication techniques, caring, change theory, developmental theory, nursing process and the role of the professional nurse in community-based nursing are explored. Nursing skills are reviewed.

Credits: 1.0

Prerequisites:

Advanced standing (LPN)

SCI 226

HUMAN ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY II

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The structure and function of the special senses, along with the endocrine, circulatory, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary and reproductive systems are stressed in this course. Laboratory experience will include cadaver study.

Credits: 4.0

Prerequisites: SCI 225

COM 230/245

LANGUAGE & CULTURE IN HEALTHCARE

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COM 230 SPANISHCOM 245 SIGN LANGUAGE

Access to healthcare is greatly affected by one's command of language. Students in this course engage in the exploration of language and culture then apply these concepts to the healthcare environment through service-learning and community engagement. Students develop practical communication skills that enable effective cross-cultural work with health professionals and clients with backgrounds different from their own.

Credits: 3.0

SCI 280

MICROBIOLOGY

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This course is a study of the principles and application of microorganisms and their relationship to various disease processes. Includes a laboratory.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: SCI 103

NRS 202/202L

HEALTH ASSESSMENT ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

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This course familiarizes students with normal and abnormal health assessment of clients across the lifespan. The course utilizes Gordon's structural framework as the primary means to organize assessment data and prioritizing nursing diagnoses. Students will identify and utilize the principles of diagnostic reasoning and critical thinking to practice the application of health assessment findings to nursing practice. Students will apply the skills of interview, inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation throughout the course as guided by evidence-based practice (EBP). Students will analyze data collected during a complete health assessment. The health assessment data collected consists of a complete health history and physical assessment including laboratory values, the client's level of wellness, environment, health practices and goals, and psychosocial (including domestic violence), mental, nutritional and transcultural considerations. The student will work to correlate the health assessment data while differentiating the major trends in growth and development and the attainment of developmental milestones comparing the differences of the well, acutely ill, and chronically ill clients across the lifespan.

Second Year - First Semester

SCI 315

PATHOPHYSIOLOGY

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This course begins with a major focus on cellular functions and pathology, including inflammation, infection, immune response, metabolism and fluid disequilibrium. These concepts serve as the foundation for the course as alterations in various bodily functions are examined. Alterations in body fluid and electrolyte homeostasis; fluid acid-base balance; genetic disorders, carcinogenesis, nematologic, gastrointestinal, urinary, respiratory, cardiac, endocrine, neurological, musculoskeletal functions are emphasized.

**For Accelerated BSN students: class extends over the whole semester, rather than the first 8 weeks.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: SCI 103, SCI 225, SCI 226, SCI 280

NRS 220

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE WITH ADULTS

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This course focuses on nursing care using a culturally sensitive framework with adult clients along the continuum of well being. Students employ caring and professional communication to promote change. Critical thinking and the nursing process are used in collaborative relationships with clients and community partners. Students are introduced to the economic impact on health. The concepts of legal/ethical accountability and prioritization are applied to professional community-based nursing practice.

Credits: 4.0

Prerequisites:

All year-one courses except HUM __: World of Ideas

Pre/Corequisites: NRS 202/202L, SCI 320, SCI 315

NRS 220C

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE WITH ADULTS CLINICAL PRACTICUM

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The clinical practicum offers students opportunities to provide nursing care with adult clients to promote and maintain health. Experiences focus on providing students beginning nursing-process skills for the delivery of care with a community-based perspective. Students incorporate interpersonal communication techniques while interacting with adult clients, members of the healthcare team and community partners.

Credits: 2.0

Prerequisites:

Corequisites: NRS 220

Prerequisites: NRS 202, NRS 202L

SSC 215

LIFESPAN PSYCHOLOGY

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Determined by major The LifeSpan perspective involves several basic contentions: development is life-long, multidimensional, multi-directional, plastic, historically embedded, multi-disciplinary and contextual. Three imperative developmental issues are explored: maturation and experience, continuity and discontinuity and stability and change. Students study how humans develop and how they become who they are.

Credits: 3.0

SCI 320

INTRODUCTION TO PHARMACOLOGY

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This course is designed to introduce students to pharmacological principles. The various drug classifications and general characteristics of drugs within a class are examined. The course also focuses on complete analysis of pharmacokinetics and drug interactions.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites:

SCI 103, SCI 225, SCI 226 Prerequisite/Corequisite: SCI 315

Second Year - Second Semester

NRS 240

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE WITH FAMILIES

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This course focuses on developing partnerships with women and childbearing families to promote and maintain health. Selected changes in the family and in the health of women are addressed. New knowledge and skills build on the frameworks of caring and community-based nursing care. Selected nursing assessment skills are introduced and applied. Use of the nursing process enhances critical-thinking skills as needs of women and childbearing families are explored. Beginning nursing leadership concepts are explored. Students identify the influence of economics on the health and well being of women and childbearing families.

Credits: 3.5

Prerequisites:

All year-one courses and NRS 220/220C, SCI 320, SCI 315

Pre/Corequisites: HUM ____: World of Ideas (Completion of 1 out of 3 World of Ideas course), SCI 240, SSC 215, SSC 235

Corequisites: NRS 240C, NRS 245

NRS 240C

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE WITH FAMILIES CLINICAL PRACTICUM

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The clinical experience offers students the opportunity to collaborate with women and childbearing families in their healthcare. Students develop partnerships through professional communication, dialogue and collaboration, critical thinking and shared learning. The nursing process and concepts of public health science, caring, professionalism and change are incorporated while working with clients. Students demonstrate selected nursing assessment skills while providing safe effective care within guidelines and policies

Credits: 2.5

Prerequisites: Corequisites: NRS 240

SCI 240

PRINCIPLES & CONCEPTS OF NUTRITION

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This course in nutrition is designed for students to gain knowledge of the basic elements of nutrition, the nutrient needs in all age groups, and client teaching. Consideration of the cultural and psychological influences of nutrition emphasizes the psychosocial components of humans and adequate nutrition maintenance for health. Students will have the opportunity to learn the role of good nutrition and how it applies to self, family, client, and the community. It provides students with basic knowledge enabling them to gain an understanding of the integral role that nutrition plays in the health and well-being of others.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: SCI 103

NRS 245

PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE I

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This course introduces public health concepts and principles. Emphasis is on the core functions of public health: assessment, policy development and assurance. The course content provides an overview of the history and organization of public health and public health issues at the local, state, national and global levels.

Credits: 1.0

Prerequisites: Corequisites: NRS 240

SSC 235

THE SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE

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This course explores the ways in which human beings make and remake the meaning of their social world through the production of culture. It employs sociological methods to explore the construction of the dominant, white subculture in the United States. The same methodologies are employed to examine the construction of subcultures in the United States, including those based on race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation.

Credits: 3.0

HUM ---

WORLD OF IDEAS: HUMANITIES ELECTIVE

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Students may choose a World of Ideas elective course. The course must be categorized within one of the following three sections:

Third Year - First Semester

NRS 340

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE ACROSS THE LIFESPAN

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Students begin to integrate a broad range of concepts related to children and adults in the community. Students build on family concepts and incorporate growth and development into a framework for community-based nursing care across the lifespan. Content focuses on health promotion, illness prevention, maintenance and management of acute and chronic health problems. The differences in communication with clients across the lifespan are examined. The course facilitates professional role development, critical thinking and the use of humanistic/scientific principles and research as the basis of culturally competent care.

Credits: 5.0

Prerequisites:

All year-one and -two courses

Pre/Corequisites: SSC 360

Corequisites: COM 320 can be taken after NRS 240 and must be completed prior to NRS 445

NRS 340C

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE ACROSS THE LIFESPAN CLINICAL PRACTICUM

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The clinical practicum promotes integration of nursing process, including prioritization, into community-based care with children and adults. Caring, professional communication, dialogue and advocacy are used to build partnerships with families. Health care and economic policies and ethical decision-making are examined. Students incorporate beginning management and leadership principles and information from research to further develop professional roles.

Credits: 4.0

Prerequisites: Corequisites: NRS 340

SSC 360

INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS

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This course is designed to introduce students to the methods used in organizing, summarizing, analyzing and interpreting quantitative information. Emphasis is placed on the application of statistical methods and on the interpretation of statistically significant data. Specific techniques for measuring the degree of relationship between variables encountered in research are presented. The course is limited to research designs involving no more than two variables.

This course applies leadership and management theories to the changing environment of healthcare. Students synthesize their knowledge of such topics as emotional intelligence, assertiveness, conflict management, gender dynamics, feedback delivery and systems theory in advanced writing and speaking projects. The NMC portfolio is integrated throughout this course. A complete portfolio (Levels I-III) is due by the end of the course.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: Determined by major

Third Year - Second Semester

NRS 350

ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN COMMUNITY-BASED NURSING

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The course incorporates concepts and principles of psychiatric mental health nursing, community health nursing and public health science that promote holistic health of diverse vulnerable communities. As students broaden self-awareness and understanding of human beings, major foci are on therapeutic communication, group process and advocacy for individuals, families, aggregates and communities. Students use enhanced critical-thinking skills and a caring approach to apply nursing process to problems with multiple causes. Students value teaching/learning principles, motivation, risk reduction and health promotion as integral to achieving desired outcomes. Theory and research related to the promotion of mental health, prevention and management of acute/chronic mental illness and population-based needs are explored. The roles of the nurse in community-based care, which include interdisciplinary collaboration, advocacy for social justice and professional leadership, are examined.

Credits: 4.0

Prerequisites:

All year-one and -two courses, NRS 340/340C, SSC 360

Pre/Corequisites: SSC 370, HUM 210, COM 320

Corequisites: NRS 345, NRS 350C

NRS 350C

ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN COMMUNITY-BASED NURSING CLINICAL PRACTICUM

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The clinical practicum facilitates the synthesis of public health principles and physical and mental health concepts/interventions with diverse populations. This experience promotes the application of theory and skills in community-based health settings for acute and chronic mental illnesses. Nursing process is applied to a variety of population-based needs. Wide-ranging skills include the use of personal and community resources and collaborative problem solving leading to innovative solutions and desired outcomes. The roles of the nurse in community-based care are assumed. These roles include interdisciplinary collaborator, advocate, casefinder/manager, counselor, referral and change agent.

Credits: 5.0

Prerequisites: NRS 345, NRS 350

SSC 370

PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCH

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This course is designed to assist the student in developing an understanding of the research process in qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods designs. The student learns to selectively apply the steps of research and to critically analyze research studies culminating in formal, oral and written projects.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: Determined by major

HUM 213

INTERDISCIPLINARY HEALTHCARE ETHICS

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This course introduces students to theories and practices of individual, communal and societal obligations. Moral inquiry in the course proceeds from a philosophical basis, with an emphasis on varied professional codes of ethics in healthcare disciplines. Students will explore codes of ethics and how they relate to traditional Western philosophies.

Credits: 3.0

NRS 345

PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE II

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This course builds upon public health core concepts and principles introduced in Public Health Science I. Content focuses on epidemiology and special needs of aggregates at risk. Current and changing healthcare are critically analyzed in relation to local, state, national and global conditions and policies

Credits: 2.0

Prerequisites: Corequisite: NRS 350 (traditional); NRS 340 (ACE)

Fourth Year - First Semester

NRS 445

NURSING THE GLOBAL SOCIETY

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In this non-clinical course, students analyze current trends and issues within the profession of nursing. Students critically examine healthcare issues that impact a changing global community. Recommendations and solutions for practice are evaluated. Professional activism is explored. Health care policy and legal/ethical concerns are scrutinized within the framework of global nursing practice.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites:

All year-one, -two and -three courses, COM 320

Corequisites: NRS 450

NRS 450

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE: COMPLEX CONCEPTS ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN

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This course focuses on the application of theory when caring for complex, high-risk clients across the lifespan. Students build upon research findings and previous knowledge to further develop critical thinking skills through the advanced nursing concepts presented in the course. Students examine the roles of professional caregiver, teacher and manager with families in an interdependent world. Students expand strategies for dialogue, collaboration and advocacy within an increasingly complex global healthcare environment.

Credits: 4.0

Prerequisites:

All year-one, -two and -three courses, COM 320

Pre/Corequisites: NRS___: Non-Clinical Nursing Elective, HUM ___ World of Ideas (Completion of 2 out of 3 World of Ideas courses)

NRS 450C

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE: COMPLEX CONCEPTS ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN CLINICAL PRACTICUM

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This clinical practicum provides opportunities for students to apply culturally diverse, holistic care with high-risk families across the lifespan. In the delivery of nursing care, students provide collaborative, complex care with families along the continuum of well being. When providing care in the changing healthcare environment, students promote autonomy, altruism, human dignity, integrity and social justice.

Credits: 5.0

Prerequisites: Corequisites: NRS 450

HUM ---

THE WORLD OF IDEAS: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

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Students critically analyze the impact of history on contemporary society. Historical methods of inquiry inform students' perspectives on societal and institutional development. Courses include:

HUM 255 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

This survey history course facilitates exploration of the history of Western Civilization from ancient times through the age of European exploration utilizing archaeology, works of fiction, news media, and secondary sources. The course provides opportunities for students to (1) employ creative means of exploring history, (2) become familiar with basic research skills and (3) hone creative and scholarly writing skills.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: Determined by major.

HUM 256 THE HISTORY OF WESTERN MEDICINE

This survey course examines the history of the dominant form of medicine in the world: that which developed in Western Europe and America between 500 B.C.E. and the twentieth century. Among the various sciences, medicine stands apart. In its modern form, it is both science and art. The study of the history of medicine is more than a mere background to contemporary science: it serves as a platform for understanding how past cultures saw themselves and their place in the world. The history of medicine reflects changing cultural understandings of the world and the place of humanity within it. Medicine, or medical history, can also have a profound effect upon what we believe about nature and ourselves, influencing our art, literature, and philosophy. The majority of this course will deal with medical trends, treatments, and perspectives. These can strike us as both amusing and disturbing, but their greatest value lies in their power to prompt us to reexamine our own beliefs and assumptions.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: Determined by major.

HUM 257 U.S. HISTORY: PAST, PRESENT, AND PROMISE: A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH BY CHALLENGING

THE PRESENT & DEMANDING A NEW FUTURE

Students in this survey course will explore the history of the United States from the first inhabitants of North America to 1870. From these historical roots the course will explore 20th century conflicts including the current war in Afghanistan. Even though it will follow a political chronology it will focus on history as a dynamic process shaped by human expectations, difficult choices, and often surprising consequences. It will concentrate on the following themes: Global Relations, Constitutional Heritage, Citizenship and Democracy, Cultural and Geographic Diversity, and Social, Technological, and Economic Development. It will encourage students to think historically, to be reflective individuals, and to be active citizens seeking the truth as agents of change.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: Determined by major.

HUM 258 WORLD HISTORY TO 1800

Students examine the formation of selected world civilizations up to the 18th century and relate challenges of those civilizations to the challenges humans face in the 21st century global community. We examine how civilizations are formed and analyze forces that caused them to decline and transform. We look at both the large picture of civilizations in an overview, and we examine lives of individuals who made significant impacts on their society and its future. Historical methods of inquiry, including study of maps, artifacts, primary texts, and critical evaluations of secondary source interpretation, inform students' perspectives on societal and institutional development. Most of all, this course provides students with opportunities to make personal connections with experiences of individuals in the past.

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: Determined by major.

HUM 259 HISTORY OF SCIENCE: THE CREATION OF A BIOMEDICAL WORLD

This is a course on the history of science, with an emphasis on the development of modern views toward biology, medicine, and how they have affected our views of human nature. In this course students will practice basic and advanced historical skills, and a large amount of in-class time will be spent on discussing and practicing the techniques that historians use to investigate and understand our world. Most of our time, we will explore the following questions: How and why have humans attempted to learn about the natural world, attempted to do science and medicine? How and why have those attempts changed over time? How have discoveries in science and medicine changed our social, cultural, and religious values? How have our social, cultural, and religious values changed our study of science and medicine?

Credits: 3.0

Prerequisites: Determined by major.

Credits:

Fourth Year - Second Semester

NRS 462

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE: COMPLEXITY OF AGING

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This course focuses on the synthesis of humanistic/scientific principles and research in the care of the older adult with complex needs. Students use critical thinking skills to examine professional nursing care in the areas of health promotion, risk reduction, disease prevention, illness/disease management, and rehabilitation in the changing environments of the older adult. Holistic concepts including spirituality, sexuality, end-of-life and economics are expanded. The roles of the professional nurse in meeting the mutually identified needs of the older adult in the community are evaluated.

Credits: 1.5

Prerequisites:

All year-one, -two, -three courses and NRS 445, NRS 450

Pre/Corequisite: HUM___ World of Ideas (Completion of all 3 World of Ideas courses)

Corequisites: NRS 462C, SSC 465

NRS 462C

COMMUNITY-BASED CARE: COMPLEXITY OF AGING CLINICAL PRACTICUM

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The clinical practicum facilitates student implementation of the nursing process in the care of the older adult with complex needs. Dialogue and collaborative partnerships with clients and healthcare providers assist students to assume professional roles in complex healthcare with older adults. Ethical/legal accountability and responsibility are practiced through the roles of facilitator, collaborator, teacher, advocate, change agent, case manager, as well as care provider.

Credits: 1.5

Prerequisites:

Corequisites: NRS 462

NRS 470

SENIOR SYNTHESIS

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Students integrate concepts of the professional role into a personal philosophy of nursing. Using a problem-based learning approach, students critically evaluate research and refine decision-making skills. Leadership/management and legal/ethical principles provide a framework for classroom activities.

Credits: 1.0

Prerequisites:

All year-one, -two, -three courses and NRS 460

Pre/Corequisites: HUM ___ World of Ideas (Completion of all 3 World of Ideas courses)

Corequisites: NRS 470P, SSC 465

NRS 470P

SENIOR PRECEPTOR PRACTICUM

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Students experience the role of the practicing nurse within a community-based learning environment. Students are assigned a RN preceptor to promote the development of confidence and competence in applying the skills and knowledge expected from a novice. Through the synthesis of prior knowledge, students apply management and communication skills to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. Students demonstrate responsibility and legal/ethical accountability in their professional role as caregiver, teacher and manager of client care.

Credits: 2.0

Prerequisites: Corequisites: NRS 470

HUM ---

WORLD OF IDEAS: HUMANITIES ELECTIVE

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Students may choose a World of Ideas elective course. The course must be categorized within one of the following three sections:

This course is based in the social sciences and is designed to assist students in the integration of their roles as healthcare professionals and educated citizens. The focus of the class is on deepening students’ understanding of and facility with social and political systems that impact the health and wellbeing of the community. Students demonstrate their preparation to act as educated citizens through the presentation of their portfolio within the context of this capstone course.